


City on Fire

by GhostlyWitchAvenger



Series: Misc. Star Trek Ideas, Snippets, and Stories [4]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Supernatural
Genre: Demonic Possession, Gen, Insanity, It's sorta fast-paced, Supernatural Elements, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-28
Updated: 2017-03-31
Packaged: 2018-10-12 01:39:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10479153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhostlyWitchAvenger/pseuds/GhostlyWitchAvenger
Summary: Away missions never go as planned. Soon after beaming back aboard, the only survivor of the mission, Jim begins to exhibit bizarre behaviour.In McCoy’s desperation, he’s forced to use the directions his great-grandmother told him to follow when he absolutely had to.“You take that feather between your hands, Len, and you pray. Pray for Castiel.”





	1. I'm Screaming (But You Can't Hear Me)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something feels off...

When he first came to, all he knew was that something was wrong. He could _feel_ it, to the core of his very being. It wasn’t like something was missing, but that something which _shouldn’t be there_ had invaded his body and taken residence. It lurked on the edges of his consciousness, whispering dark things and tempting him with immoral ideas.

Jim was vaguely aware of the hands pulling at his uniform and caressing his face. He was vaguely aware of Bones before him, out of focus, hazel eyes wide in fear and concern, mouth moving but making no sound. He was vaguely aware of the aches in his joints and the stings of his cuts, the blood on his hands and the throbbing of his skull...

The whispers got louder.

Whimpering, Jim covered his ears, trying to block out the sound but to no avail. He could hear screams, but they sounded so far away he couldn’t bring himself to care. This _thing_ inside his mind was tearing through everything, burrowing its way into the deepest parts of his memory and destroying the little defences he had. He felt so vulnerable…

“Jim! Jim, look at me!” The words barely penetrated through the thick fog that blanketed his mind, keeping him trapped with the presence in his head. He had to get away, _he had to get away!_

Fingers spread across his face, fingers not his own.

He lashed out, his fist striking against an indistinct blue blob. Jim isn’t sure if he cried out, his throat hurt so damn much and someone _make the screaming stop!_

“Captain, please cease your struggling,” A cultured voice cut through and the wailing stopped. _Spock_. His vision had yet to return to him fully, but the more he focused, the more he could make out the lean figure of his first officer, hand extended towards him and his meld points.

Jim’s own bloody hands reached forwards, searching for stability and comfort, but the creature in his head wanted to kill _kill kill!_ He drew back quickly, propelling backwards against the wall and curling up.

“Stay away stay away stay away…” The words were like a mantra, flying past his lips so quickly he could barely register what he was saying, “Don’ wanna hurt, stay away!”

His chest heaved with heavy sobs, fat tears washing away the grime on his face.

“It’s okay Jim, we’re not gonna hurt you,” Bone spoke again, a hypospray gripped loosely in his hand.

“No!” The words burst past his lips with a harsh bite as he shook his head frantically, eyes on the floor. He knew they wouldn’t hurt him. He didn’t want to hurt _them_ , “Not me, not me, not _me_.”

He started scratching at his forearms, the fabric already gone from what happened before. _Why couldn’t he remember?_ His nails gouged skin and blood ran fresh and bright. He couldn’t stop it, it was the thing in his head that was making him do this. Bones rushed forward and grabbed his arms, trying to prevent him from doing further damage to himself.

“My God man, what happened down there,” The doctor muttered as he firmly gripped the bloody appendages in his own hands, effectively stopping Jim. Whatever was in his mind didn’t like it and lashed out using his own body, shoving away at his friend and screaming obscenities, “Damn it Jim, I’m trying to help you!”

“Doctor, the captain is not in his right mind,” Spock admonished McCoy, who gave him a dark scowl in response. In this moment of inattention, the _thing_ inside his body forced Jim forward, bloody, shaky hands wrapping around his best friend’s throat.

_"You son of a whore! I’ll fucking kill you, you murdering bastard!"_

Inside, he was screaming at himself to stop. He’s hurting his friend _oh God no Bones somebody stop him he didn’t mean what he was saying!_ But no one could. He could feel people grabbing at his clothes and arms, trying to pry him off but the creature inhabiting his body was so much stronger than them. So much stronger than _him._

When the sweet blackness followed after a sharp pain in his neck, the image of Bones’ red face and wide eyes were burned into his retinas.


	2. Listen to the Expert (Your Life Depends On It)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bones' unspoken suspicions are confirmed.

“Are you sure you are quite all right, doctor?” Spock’s flat voice seemed oddly loud in the Medbay, where many of the nurses were unobtrusively going about their work. News travelled fast on this ship, and what happened in the transporter room merely an hour prior took no time to reach even the farthest corners of the _Enterprise._

“Yeah Spock,” He rasped around the slight pain in his throat, and winced as he massaged it, “I’m fine,” Hazel eyes sent a wary glance in the direction of Jim’s private room, the door locked. Despite understanding his friend and captain was restrained on that biobed, and currently unconscious, Bones was still certainly uncomfortable with the idea that the man he trusted just tried to kill him.

What he saw in there, on that transporter pad, wasn’t like anything he’d ever seen before. Jim wasn’t just acting weird, he was _manic._ And the words that raged past his lips were vile and cruel. While McCoy knew his good friend had mean streaks once in a blue moon, this behaviour was beyond comprehension. And he could swear he saw Jim’s eyes flash black for a moment, when those hands were throttling the life out of him.

But that was undoubtedly oxygen deprivation.

“You must be aware that the captain would not intentionally harm you,” Spock continued, hands clasped behind his back and a hard line of tension in his shoulders, eyeing the bruises circling the doctor’s throat like a necklace, “His actions were both bizarre and uncharacteristic. I believe that he suffered from a lapse in mental stability.”

“It’s only a lapse if it’s temporary,” Bones sighed, pushing himself off of his desk and making his way over to the private room reserved for the captain, PADD clenched tightly in his hand, “That’s something we can’t figure out until he wakes up.”

The door opened with a soft hiss, and Jim’s still unconscious form was revealed to them. The two paused in the doorway, watching with hesitant breaths upon their lips.

“God…” McCoy’s free hand rubbed at his face, “What do you think even happened down there?”

“I could not begin to hazard a guess, doctor,” Spock conceded with a tilt of his head, “However, I could arrange another away team and - .”

“You continue that thought and I’ll hit you,” Bones fumed, turning around to place finger on the Vulcan’s chest, “We are not endangering more lives. The rest of the team that went down with Jim are either dead or missing, and my bet’s on the former. You send anyone else to the planet, the same thing’s gonna happen and I won’t let you do it, you green-blooded computer!”

A slanted brow raised at the doctor’s ire, but he said nothing in response.

“Bones?”

Jim’s voice was weak, and McCoy turned in surprise, “Jim? Hey,” He hesitantly made his way further into the room, Spock merely a step behind him, “How are you feeling?” The captain blinked a couple of times, eyes squinted and trying to focus on the men before him.

“Why do I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck?” He finally asked, tongue darting out to moisten cracked lips, “I’m sore all over.”

His moved as if to rub at his face, but found he couldn’t bring his limbs farther than an inch off the biobed, “Bones… why am I tied down?” Like a switch, his tired aura was instantaneously replaced by alarm and - surprisingly – anger. Not confusion like the doctor expected, “You will release me. Right _fucking_ now.”

“I am afraid we cannot do that,” Spock said, refusing to take a step closer to the irate captain, “When you were beamed aboard you proved to be a danger to yourself and to others. Until we have established that you are no longer a threat, you will stay restrained. Your behaviour at this exact moment indicates you should remain detained.”

“What the hobgoblin said,” Bones said half-heartedly, while his sole attention was on Jim. The younger male’s face was flushed and growing in its intensity by the second. And when Kirk kept his stare on Spock, silently seething at his words, Bones moved to put his patient between himself and the Vulcan, discreetly checking the restraints.

“You filthy half-breed,” Jim ground out, and Spock couldn’t help the wounded look that bled onto his face, “You think you can keep me locked up? Think again,” His voice seemed darker somehow, and that sent chills down the doctor’s spine. _This wasn’t Jim._

All those stories his mama told him, and all of those precautions she had ingrained into him since birth… Well… _Let’s hope they pay off_.

“Christo,” He whispered. Jim - _not Jim_ \- inhaled sharply, before his head snapped to Bones, eyes black and smirk wide, “Spock, call security and clear Medbay. Now.”

“To leave you alone with the captain - .”

“Dammit Spock just listen to me! This is _not_ Jim, you have no idea what you’re dealing with,” Bones was too focused on the thing in front him to care about how scathing his tone was, all he could tell is that it was enough to make the demon - _yes, demon_ \- chortle.

“That’s right Spock, listen to the good doctor. After all...”

Jim’s head tipped to the side dangerously, nose scrunching in a terrible mockery of what the real Jim would do when he was amused. His pearly whites flashed in a threatening manner.

“A Winchester would know what he’s talking about.”


	3. In Your Tongue (I Call To Thee)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When things take a drastic turn, McCoy must force his hand.

Leonard’s mama always told him stories about those things that went bump in the night. Vampires, werewolves, ghosts… even demons. She had always made sure that he knew what was out there, whether he believed in it or not. But it was his great-grandmama that taught him how to protect himself should he ever encounter any beast of the sort.

“Well isn’t it my lucky day?” Not-Jim drawled, his eyes having yet to return to their natural blue.  _ Not that what was inside his friend was natural _ , “Thought the Winchester line would have burned out a long time ago. But I know someone of the royal blood when I see ‘em.”

Leonard pressed his lips together, his dull nails slicing into the skin of his palms, red liquid seeping through his fingers and dripping to the floor. The pain grounded him as the sounds of voices outside eventually quieted, the nurses having finally left Medbay. The two of them were now alone, “Why don’t you save us the trouble and leave Jim’s body?”

The demon pouted, bottom lip jutting out just enough to portray a petulant child, “But that wouldn’t be any fun. What is it with you Winchesters and ruining our parties, huh?”

He didn’t answer, simply choosing to glower at him. The creature rolled his eyes before pulling against the restraints as if expecting them to simply snap. When they didn’t, a triumphant sneer stretched McCoy’s lips, “Don’t you think more than just blood would have been passed down? Say, like their secrets?” Calloused fingers tugged at the black nylon to prove a point, “I was raised to be a paranoid man, demon. These have spells on them. You could say a certain red-haired witch owed me a favour.”

A yelp tore past his lips when his wrist was grabbed, the small cartilage grinding against each other, “Not paranoid enough, doctor,” Jim scowled, his playful demeanour gone. The snap of breaking bones was audible over the hum of the ship and Bones screamed in agony. Grabbing the flask he kept in his pocket - something everyone assumed to be full of alcohol - he screwed off the top with his thumb and dumped the contents on the possessed man.

The demon hissed as it withdrew its vice-like grasp, releasing the doctor who cradled his injured wrist to his chest as the holy water did its work.

“Who are you?” He was done playing games with this dark entity, “What do you want?”

“Do I need to want something to do anything?” He shrugged, a bit awkwardly due to how he was restrained to the bed, “I felt like having fun. Jimmy here looks like fun. He’s captain of a  _ starship. _ I’ve never been on one before.”

Inwardly, he cursed. The ones who didn’t have an agenda were always dangerous, his mama had told him. They had nothing to lose and everything to gain. You, on the other hand, could do nothing but sacrifice.

He needed to end this.  _ Now. _

_ "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus - !”  _ A cry ripped past his lips as Bones was thrown across the room, his shoulder ramming painfully into the opposite wall with a crash. That red-headed wench had told him that her spells would weaken low-level demons to the point where they were powerless. Either she lied to him –  _ wouldn’t be the first time _ – or this demon was a lot stronger than he thought.

“Be quiet!” The lights flickered, and he became painfully aware of how dangerous it was that a demon had made its way onto a starship. Planetside, there wasn’t the risk of life support going out, or the hull ripping away and throwing you into the emptiness of space. Yes, attempting an exorcism will always come with the threat against your life, but you were always vulnerable in space. There was no escaping that, “I could destroy this ship if I sneeze, so I’d be mindful of your actions, Winchester.”

“Doctor!” Spock’s muffled voice sounded through the shut door, and he could hear the shuffle of others with him, “Open the door! I cannot override the system!”

Leonard precariously pushed his weight on his heels, being mindful of his broken wrist and now dislocated shoulder, “You get up and you’ll be dead faster than you can say your little exorcism.”

“Doctor McCoy! Open the door right now!” Giotto’s meaty fist pounded against the glass, and a glance in their direction showed several of security trying to peer in and read the situation.

Spock tried to break through the glass with force, a primal look in his eyes McCoy hadn’t seen since Jim had walked into the warp core. Bones shook his head and raised a hand, telling them to stand down, which - reluctantly - they did.

“Good choice,” The demon chuckled from its place on the other side of the room, “Whatcha gonna do now?”

Those last words drove the air out of his lungs, quite literally. He precipitously tried to bring air into his lungs but to no avail. His own hands clawed at his throat, panic seizing his heart and constricting like a snake.

“Leonard!”

He couldn’t breathe  _ dammit he couldn’t breathe!  _ What was he supposed to do?

_ Remember, Len. I want you to take this, and use it when it’s absolutely necessary. Repeat after me. _

Hope flared within him as shaky digits reached under his shirt, tugging at the silver chain holding his salvation as black crept along the edges of his vision. His great-grandmama’s voice echoed within his subconscious, guiding him.

_ I take this token in my hands and I pray to thee. _

The pounding at the door had renewed with fervour as he clutched the charm in his hand, the locket’s hard edges burrowing into his already damaged flesh. Somewhere, far away, he could hear obnoxious laughter that dripped with sin.

_ In your tongue, I call. Rah ah gah ee oh es. _

“Is the widdle Winchester praying? How cute. It’s a shame that God won’t help you now, you’re on your own! Perhaps the bloodline will end with you! Wouldn’t that be nice?”

_ Vee nu nohno kee ah seh peh teh poh ah ma lah deh zod. _

When unconsciousness finally embraced him, Bones’ head clouting hard against the solid floor of the deck, he could see a bright flash of blue behind his lids. Warmth permeated his being and proliferated, reaching the very tips of his fingers and toes.

_ Should you ever find yourself in a hopeless situation, where there’s nothing else you can do. You take that feather between your hands, Len, and you pray. Pray for Castiel. _

He just hoped that the others had the good sense to shut their eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Castiel is finally going to show up!!!
> 
> ...and maybe with a couple of others?


	4. Blood Is Thick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Sam come along for the ride to the future.

“Son of a bitch,” Dean groaned, easing his way onto the motel bed. Every muscle screamed in protest, very much like the springs in the mattress did when he transferred his weight onto them, “I’m getting too old for this.”

“Dude, you’re only what, thirty-seven?” His brother scoffed as he bolted the door behind him, the duffel in his hand thrown to the parallel bed with a dull thump, “Maybe if you stretched like I tell you to - _everyday_ \- you wouldn’t feel _old_.”

“I’m thirty- _eight_. Almost forty, besides, who needs stretching when there’s sleeping?” The eldest Winchester’s lip curled, not even bothering to toe off his boots as he folded his arms under his head.

It had seemed to be a simple hunt at first. The intel they had received had given them the impression that they needed to clear out a small vampire nest; there was nothing about a werewolf pack being in the area as well.

It was almost cliché: vampires versus werewolves.

And he was going to give the hunter who had called them with the tip a good tongue lashing when he got the chance. Because upon arrival, after it had become apparent that these two creatures were at war with each other, it became a three-sided battle. Two hunters, against ten vampires and ten werewolves. What a nightmare.

“That’s a terrible argument and you know it. It’s obvious you could do with some yoga,” Dean merely waved his comment away, eyes shut and sleep creeping up on him already. He had just entered a nice doze when a deep voice startled him out of bliss.

“Hello, Dean. Sam.”

Dean would deny until his dying day that he had shrieked in fright. He’s a hunter. He doesn’t shriek. But he _does_ curse and shout, “Christ, Cas! We need to put a fucking bell on you!”

“Apologies,” Castiel’s face, however, didn’t reflect his words. Lips pressed together before he spoke again, hesitance in his voice, “I need your help.”

“Is it something with Lucifer?” Sam jumped the gun as he sat up straighter in his seat, feet propped up on the table and laptop open, “Do you know where he is?”

“No. And I do not think Lucifer may be involved,” His gravelly voice answered, eyes impatient and shifty. He bounced a bit on the balls of his feet, anxious to continue, “But it’s incredibly important that we solve whatever this problem is. I don’t know any details, but your descendant called to me, asking for my assistance.”

“Descendant? You mean we’ve gotta go to the _future_?” Dean pushed himself into a sitting position, arms propping him up, “Man, I hate time travelling. What year would it be?”

“2264,” At the number, both hunters’ eyes nearly bugged out of their heads, “I know it might be too much to ask of you, and no one is saying you are required to offer yo - ,” Sam raised a hand to cut him off.

“We don’t have any leads on Lucifer at the moment. I don’t see why we can’t help. Besides, you’re our friend,” A soft smile lifted his lips as he stood to stand next to him, his height nearly dwarfing Cas.

Any tension the angel had in his body melted away, and a look of relief crossed his features, “I appreciate this,” He stepped forward to grab the two of them, but Dean stepped back suddenly.

“Wait, hold on a second. Why can’t future you help them?” Castiel’s face pinched with pain, but not the physical kind, “I mean, if they’re calling for you, specifically, shouldn’t the Castiel of the future be around to solve this? It’d certainly be easier than hopping through time.”

A frown stretched the angel’s lips, “I must be dead in the future. That’s the only explanation I can think of,” The implications of that statement left Dean feeling like the floor just fell out from underneath him. While he’s sure the angel doesn’t perish within his lifetime, the idea of Cas being dead _at all_ was unnerving… and depressing to think about.

“Okay,” He concedes, before grabbing the duffle Sam had discarded earlier, “Let’s go help our family.”

“You have my thanks,” That was the only warning he gave before all three of them felt the harsh tug of time jumping in their guts. A rainbow of colours and lights passed in front of their eyes before bleeding away into white metals.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry there isn't anything interesting here and it's a little short. But all the action starts next chapter!


End file.
